


Threshold

by unholyminter (oneswhonever)



Category: The Ultimate Sidemen
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Drinking Games, Drunken Shenanigans, Friends With Benefits, LGBTQ Themes, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Male Friendship, Male Homosexuality, One Night Stands, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-10-17 04:36:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10586556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneswhonever/pseuds/unholyminter
Summary: Seven students from varying areas of England are in for a rough time when they're introduced to the American school system - and as college roommates, no less.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepystar123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepystar123/gifts).



> Hey guys! This is based off a lot of research saying that there can be up to ten-bed suites in university, usually consisting of doubles. If anything is incorrect, I apologize - seeing as this isn't based off of experience. 
> 
> Also, this isn't set anywhere in particular. An unnamed town in California, I guess? 
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

Somehow, California was exactly the way Josh expected it to be. On the other hand, it was entirely different.

He arrived on what would probably end up being the coldest, rainiest day of the year. His mood was sour from the moment he stepped out of the airport and realized that the skies were gray and rain pounded the ground, lighting striking in bright, yellow flashes. Bitterly, he felt as though he were still in London. The grim weather was the last thing he ever expected of sunny California. Seeing typical yellow taxis and a McDonald's within walking distance of the airport restored a little bit of hope. 

If you could even call it that.

Similarly to how he had seen it in movies, Josh hailed down one of these taxis; to his surprise, it actually worked. The driver popped the trunk when he noticed Josh's bags, for which he was grateful - he had no desire to hold them any longer. He then slid into the backseat, and cleared his throat.

"Lakewood University. Please."

The driver, a short man evidently of Hispanic heritage, pulled onto the main road and spoke in semi-broken English. "I can tell you're not from around here, son."

"No, sir," replied Josh, to which the man looked at him in the rear-view mirror, a questionable look crossing his distinguishable features. Had he said something wrong? "I've lived in London my whole life. Just coming here for school."

"That's good, boy. Best make something of yourself."

Josh kept from laughing. Of course, making something of himself was the goal in these endeavors - flying so far from home to do something he wasn't certain would work out was unlike him. His mum had always urged him to do something good with his life. It seemed like everyone back home knew what was good for him, and now it was his turn to figure it out. 

University was the default answer, it seemed. His mum and dad supported this decision, and were instantly helping him research schools. They urged him to attend somewhere closer, but Josh's heart was set on California. No one understood why, but it was his very first step in doing things for himself rather than to please those around him. He needed a change of pace and a change of scenery. Having been stuck in one location for his whole life was doing him no favors. 

It was expensive, having to move to a whole new country. He barely got to take anything with him, and was having to purchase a load of new stuff for the dorms upon arrival. However, living on campus would cut down the costs significantly. Even though his parents weren't too keen on Josh sharing a room with  _six_ other people, they were the ones paying his tuition - and didn't need to pay for an apartment, as well. 

Josh supposed he had to be grateful. They could have said no to sending him overseas. Plus, he was actually looking forward to meeting his roommates. He would know no one in town, so if he hit it off well with the lot, they could end up being quite good friends. He hoped at least one of them was a local so he could get some information about his surroundings. 

It would certainly take the edge off. 

 

\---

 

The first day of orientation was hectic. 

Josh couldn't believe the buzz around campus, seeing students run from the parking lot to the main building with all their luggage. All freshmen, he assumed. For the first time since landing, he felt nervous. Not only was he in an entirely new country, but it would be an entirely new school system. He almost didn't want to leave the comfort of the air conditioned taxi, but knew it was inevitable. He thanked his driver, and tipped him generously, before stepping onto the wet concrete and retrieving his bags. In spite of the still-heavy rain, it was also quite hot and muggy, and Josh could already feel himself beginning to sweat. 

He didn't know where he was going. He had looked at plenty of maps online, but all of that information seemed to be leaking from his brain. He decided to simply follow the crowd of students that he saw pouring into the main building. Considering it was the freshmen orientation, he knew there had to be someone from within who could help him out. 

As he made his way inside, he looked around. He looked at all of the buildings, all of the halls - all connected by sky walks with big windows. All of this is so familiar, yet so foreign. He's seen it all before, and yet it's all brand new to him. This is a world that Josh has never experienced before, and at some point his legs are carrying him even faster to the inside of the building, ready and eager. 

There was a swarm of people, and Josh had expected that much. But what he didn't expect was to be hit with a rush of emotions. Good emotions. A wave of realization dawned upon him as he came to terms with the fact that, cramped in the room, were so many people from so many different backgrounds. He would never know all of them, not in a million years, but he felt as though they were all the same. With such differing backgrounds and different reasons for coming here - they were all in the same boat, and to his surprise, Josh actually felt comfortable. 

Maybe this could end up being good for him. 

 

\---

 

It was a struggle to find the correct hall to go to, but when he located the southern most side of campus, finding his room was a breeze. Toting his dampened luggage behind him (he didn't use the sky walks; call him stupid but he wanted to take a gander of the campus), he dropped his keys from his mouth into a waiting hand, unlocking the door swiftly. 

To his surprise, there was already someone there. And he was gorgeous. 

He probably wasn't any taller than six feet - just under, Josh would say. He had golden colored hair (literally, golden blond, if Josh had to describe it) and the lightest blue eyes Josh had ever seen. His lips naturally stuck out in a perfect, rosy pout. He was lanky, skinny, but still well built. Not muscular, but definitely lean. His skin was quite tanned, but he still had patches of a sunburn on his arms. 

And it was clear that he found Josh's scrutiny to be uncomfortable. 

"Um, hi?" he spoke, although it was more of a question than anything else. To Josh's utter surprise, he had an English accent. "If you're waiting for me to introduce myself, I'm Harry."

Harry Lewis. Of course. Josh had all the names of his roommates, given out to him over the summer, but had never cared to look any of them up - the upcoming move had made him nervous enough, and he hadn't wanted to think about it. 

"Yeah. My bad, mate. I'm Josh," he said, also becoming relatively uncomfortable. He hated to think that they had already gotten off on a bad foot. The last thing he needed was to spend the next academic year with someone who hated his guts. Maybe making conversation would ease some of the tension. "You're from England, are you?"

Harry sucked in a deep breath, sounding almost shaky, but calmly let it go. "Yeah. Guernsey. You?"

"London, actually," replied Josh, only then taking the time to look around the room. They were standing in what he assumed was the main area - which featured a small kitchenette and an empty space, presumably a living area. To either side of him were hallways, presumably leading to bedrooms. Everything was considerably bare. "So, you're the only one here so far?"

"Uh, yeah. I wanted to be the first here...kind of wanted to nab the single room before anyone else. I came two days ago, actually, when they opened up the halls. No offense but...I'm a little wary about sharing space. I'm sorry if I seem, like, weird. M'homesick."

Right. Naturally.

"Don't sweat it, man," Josh said calmly, to which Harry gave him the ghost of a smile. "Uh...I'm gonna unload my shit, then. You fancy going out for a bite tonight?"

Harry nodded, but didn't speak - and Josh took that as his cue to leave the room. He retrieved his bags, and headed down the hall, where all of the doors had been propped open for his selection. 

He couldn't tell if things were going poorly yet. 


	2. Chapter 2

"California can't be too bad if you haven't called to complain yet."

"Sorry, must have forgotten to call," murmured Josh, feeling a wave of guilt hit him. He could practically  _hear_ Harry's eye roll. The next day was considerably sunnier than when Josh had arrived, so when Harry announced he was wanting to head to the beach, Josh happily tagged along - having forgotten that he was supposed to call his girlfriend. "It's been a little busy. I went to dinner with my roommate last night and then we just unpacked. Kinda uneventful so far."

Freya seemed to accept this answer well enough - being a year above Josh, she knew all about the university life. "I know it gets a little busy. You're off the hook for now. What's your roommate like?"

Josh looked towards Harry, who was currently lounging and basking in all the glorious sunlight (the light hitting his face and eyes in the most _beautiful_ way). "He's...something else. I don't know much about him. There's gonna be seven of us and we're the only ones here so far."

"Give 'em time. Maybe they just wanna see the town. Anyways, I gotta run - I've got my first class today. Wouldn't wanna be late."

"Bit early," Josh commented, seeing as the classes at Lakewood wouldn't be starting for another week. "Well, have a good day. I love you."

"Love ya, Josh."

The line went dead then, and Josh smiled to himself, sliding his phone back into his pocket. Harry was looking at him with his eyebrows knitted together, his lips stuck in a permanent, juicy pout. Josh was as straight as he possibly could be, there was no doubt about that, but Harry was easily one of the most attractive people he had ever seen in his life. He could admit when a man was attractive - his masculinity wasn't quite that fragile.

"That girl's got you whipped," said Harry, fiddling with his cola can. "She best be good looking."

"She is," replied Josh, leaning over and showing Harry his lock screen - a picture of himself and Freya at Alton Towers several years prior. It had been their first real date, when Josh finally got a car and decided to jump the gun and take her out. "We were sixteen here, so it's been a couple years. Have you got a girlfriend?"

Harry frowned, making a circle in the sand with his finger. "Uh...I used to. We broke up before I left to come here, though. She wasn't really digging the long distance thing."

Josh leaned back, laying down on their beach blanket and pushing his sunglasses over his eyes. It had been awhile since he had experienced beautiful weather such as this. He never expected to have such a good time laying on the beach with some guy he hardly knew. Harry was good company, surprisingly; even though they had gotten off to a particularly awkward start, they had gotten over it over dinner. Josh had a feeling that they'd get to be quite good friends.

"That sucks, mate," Josh sympathized. "Freya was a little worried about the big move but...we've been together for so long. She trusts me not to do anything."

Harry fell silent after that, and Josh added girlfriends to his mental list of things not to talk about.

 

***

 

"Her name was Katie," Harry was speaking finally, but mostly to himself, as he fished around in his pockets for his keys. They had abandoned the beach shortly after their tense discussion, and after a quick bistro dinner, Harry was ready to leave. Josh wasn't sure what got him talking this time around. "She was great. Really great. She trusted me and I guess I must've trusted her too much...on her spring break she cheated on me, so...that ended that."

Josh felt awkward, feeling like he pressured his roommate into talking about things that he didn't want to. "I'm sorry, dude. Well, if she cheated on you, I mean...good riddance, innit?"

Harry nodded absently, pushing their door open. "I guess."

There were two guys sitting at the kitchen table upon their entry. Josh didn't recognize either one of them, but by the look that crossed his expression, it was evident that Harry did.

"Hey, lads," he greeted, a warm tone seeping into his voice. Josh had to wonder why that greeting wasn't used on him when he had first met Harry. "Simon and JJ, right? I was wondering when you lot would get here."

Simon Minter and Olajide "JJ" Olatunji. Of course. Josh hadn't anticipated the arrival of their new roommates, seeing as he never bothered to get in contact with them. Evidently, Harry did.

"Hey, Harry," greeted the taller of the two (also a brit, Josh could tell), standing up with a smile on his face. And if Josh had thought Harry was gorgeous... _fuck._ This new kid was on an entirely different level, and his smile was just as brilliant as the rest of his features. He was _unbelievably_ good looking - in spite of having the body type of a green bean. "We've been a little caught up, trying to sort shit out back home." Tall, blonde, and gorgeous stopped talking, and looked at Josh. "Hey! Sorry. You're Josh, right? I looked everyone up beforehand. Wanted to check the lot of you out."

Josh stared for a moment before recomposing himself. "Yeah. Nice to meet you, mate."

"Likewise," Simon nodded, the smile never fading from his radiant face. "JJ, don't be a dick."

"Right," said the man who still sat at the table, a stony expression on his face. He and Simon appeared to be polar opposites from the get go - which was surprising, considering that they already seemed friendly with one another. "Hey."

Simon took his seat again, but was followed by Harry, who took the open seat next to him. "So, how do you two know each other? I know you're from the same general area, but, what's the correlation?"

"We go waaaayyyyyy back," replied Simon swiftly. He looked to Josh before patting the seat on the other side of him - indicating for the brunette to sit down. Josh's legs suddenly felt as though they would give out as he stalked over, avoiding looking at Simon as he took a seat. "We met in Year Eight. Our mums were friends - like, best friends - and they wanted us to meet. I thought their intentions all along were to set us up, but-"

"Set you up?" interjected Harry. "What do you mean?"

Simon laughed, his smile only broadening. "Oh, like, as boyfriends."


End file.
